A die backside film (DBF) is (typically) a wafer level film, often between 5 and 50 micrometers (abbreviated herein as “microns” or “μm”) thick, that may be laminated on or otherwise applied to the backside of a silicon (or other) wafer. (References herein to silicon (Si) should be taken as illustrative; other suitable wafer materials may also be used.) Such application may take place after the wafer has been thinned. The DBF is typically a polymer/inorganic composite and is permanently attached to the back side of the die following a curing of the film. Among other things, such films increase the reliability of a microelectronic package containing the coated die and offer significant protection against die cracking and warping during package assembly and handling. Such films can be especially advantageous for products sold or shipped as bare die packages, which otherwise (i.e., in the absence of such films) would be more likely to be subjected to wear, abrasion, or other backside damage introduced during the assembly/test process (or arising from other sources) possibly leading to poor die backside visual appearance and/or die cracking during use.
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the discussion of the described embodiments of the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements, while similar reference numerals may, but do not necessarily, denote similar elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Similarly, if a method is described herein as comprising a series of steps, the order of such steps as presented herein is not necessarily the only order in which such steps may be performed, and certain of the stated steps may possibly be omitted and/or certain other steps not described herein may possibly be added to the method. Furthermore, the terms “comprise,” “include,” “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as directly or indirectly connected in an electrical or non-electrical manner. Objects described herein as being “adjacent to” each other may be in physical contact with each other, in close proximity to each other, or in the same general region or area as each other, as appropriate for the context in which the phrase is used. Occurrences of the phrase “in one embodiment” herein do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment.